Bhubaneswar: A dispute during a casual card game led to a murder at Rota village under Agalpur police limits in Odisha’s Balangir district.
The victim, identified as Sahil Patel, a Class VIII student, lost his life after being stabbed in the chest by a peer.
According to sources, a group of boys gathered around 11 am on Wednesday at the local club house near the village upper primary school, which was closed for a holiday, to play cards. During the game, an argument broke out between Sahil and another minor. The verbal confrontation quickly escalated, following which the accused minor allegedly went to his home, got a knife, and struck Sahil in the chest.
Sahil collapsed on the spot. He was immediately rushed to the Agalpur Community Health Centre by his father, but was declared dead on arrival.
Agalpur police took the accused minor into custody and launched an investigation into the motive and exact sequence of events. Sahil’s body, on the other hand, was shifted to Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Balangir for postmortem before releasing it to his family.
Allegations of intoxicant consumption have also surfaced in this case.
Meanwhile, agitated local residents staged a sit-in protest outside the Agalpur police station, demanding swift justice for the victim. They alleged that an unchecked illegal drug trade at Rota village had exposed local children to substance abuse, and sharply criticised the police for failing to curb these illicit activities.
SDPO Saroj Upadhyay visited the spot to assess the situation as further inquiry continues under Sub-Inspector Sarbeswar Sahu, the sources added.